Alabama left Starkville with a result that looked almost too comfortable for the pregame line to make sense. A game that had been priced as a field-goal spread turned into something much clearer once the ball was kicked, and the gap between these two rosters showed up fast.
The biggest reason was Keelon Russell. He is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman according to FanDuel, and the weekly package he’s putting on tape keeps looking less like a first-year starter and more like a quarterback who has been doing this for years.
He is stacking “wow” plays every week, and the back-shoulder timing he’s already built with the receivers is the kind of detail that can break a defense open. When an offense can pair that with a real run game, there just isn’t much left for a defense to grab onto.
Russell kept beating Mississippi State in every possible way. He worked from the pocket, outside the pocket, and with his legs. The first five teams on the schedule had no answer for him, and Georgia’s defense will be a much different kind of test.
There were plenty of other takeaways from the game, starting with the offensive line. Adrian Klemm looks like the most important signing of the offseason.
The group still has a few hiccups, but it is worlds better than what Alabama dealt with last year. The communication is cleaner, the play is more stable, and the personnel is doing a much better job of grading out.
Tyrell Miller got beat badly on one snap, but overall he held up well stepping in for Jayvin James. The pin and pull stuff has become a real fixture in the offense, and it has produced explosive runs in every game so far.
Klemm’s impact has also shown up in pass protection. Alabama is helping itself by running the ball effectively, and Russell’s ability to escape keeps plays alive. The result is a 2026 offense that is spending far less time behind the chains.
In the backfield, Trae’shawn Brown seems to be taking control. EJ Crowell had the highlight-reel run, but Brown was the steady force.
Daniel Hill may get more work later, but after he put the ball on the turf a second time yesterday, Brown appeared to take over. For a three-star freshman, Brown runs with the kind of feel you can’t coach.
The line is opening creases and he is finding them, and that combination has been easy to watch.
Xavier Griffin also keeps forcing his way onto the field. The five-star freshman linebacker had what might have been his breakout game, finishing with a team-high nine tackles and his first sack. He looks like a sideline-to-sideline problem waiting to happen, and Alabama has plenty of options at the position with Griffin rotating alongside Luke Metz and Caleb Woodson.
Dijon Lee Jr. delivered just about every version of himself in one night. He opened by picking off a pass and taking it back for a touchdown, then let the emotion spill out with a spike in the end zone.
The hope was that the play would spark a bigger night. Instead, he later muffed a punt.
He also flashed as a return man with a couple of explosive runs, which only adds to the sense that the talent is there. On one touchdown, he was beaten while looking toward the sideline before the snap, though that may have been tied to the playcall coming in late.
He also delivered a violent hit that showed why some people think he might fit better as a box safety. Carmelo O’Neal continues to look like a liability when he enters the game, so the lack of depth at corner could be part of why Lee has not already moved.
If Jorden Edmonds gets healthy, that could lead to some experimentation.
Even with all of that, Alabama still has not played a complete game, and that may be the encouraging part. The mistakes are fewer than they were before, but there is still cleanup work ahead.
Kalen DeBoer pointed to the ten penalties, especially the pre-snap procedural issues. The coverage busts are still there, too.
Kamario Taylor missed several open receivers in a way that felt out of character and may have been affected by the foot issue he is dealing with. The muffed punt also falls into the category of the kind of mistake that can swing a game against a better opponent.
Still, the sequence after the muff said something about this group. Zabien Brown forced and recovered a fumble right after it, and the defense gathered around Lee on the sideline to make it clear they had his back. That kind of bond matters, and a lot of it seems to come from belief in the quarterback.
Now the schedule turns to the stretch Alabama fans have circled for a while. Beat Georgia on Saturday, and Alabama will be in the catbird seat for Atlanta.
Lose, and the path is still there, but the margin for error shrinks fast. Georgia brings a more experienced team into the matchup, with the most returning starts in the SEC entering the season.
But with Russell and this freshman class, Alabama may have the higher ceiling.
In Other News...
Georgia Still Has One Ranking Problem Heading Into Alabama
Danny Kanells latest Week 5 top 12 brought a fresh jolt to the SEC pecking order, with Alabama climbing to No. 1 after its decisive win over Mississippi State. The updated list also included Texas, Georgia and Ole Miss, giving the conference four teams in the mix, while Alabamas rise was fueled in part by the play of quarterback Keelon Russell.
Georgia checked in at No. 5 after its win over Vanderbilt, which leaves the Bulldogs with some ground to make up compared with the Tide at the top. Texas and Ole Miss both had byes in Week 5, so their standing stayed in place for now, but the bigger storyline from an Alabama perspective is clear: the Tide have the top spot, and the SEC race still has plenty of movement left. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama May Have A New Wrinkle Georgia Can't Ignore
Alabamas offense showed a different look in its 56-23 win over Mississippi State, and it was enough to spark some real curiosity about where Ryan Grubb may want to take things next. The Crimson Tide used the I formation in the game, a wrinkle that stood out because it put more emphasis on running the ball from under center and gave the attack a more physical edge than usual.
Grubb addressed the approach in Mondays press conference and pointed to the offensive line and tight ends for the way they handled the assignment, even with a fumble on the first play out of the formation. He also said the staff could lean on it more in the 2026 season, which makes the look worth tracking now as Alabama keeps shaping answers that could matter later in the year and beyond. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Backfield Debate Is Getting Harder To Ignore
Alabamas backfield has become one of the more interesting depth-chart conversations around the program, and freshman EJ Crowell is right in the middle of it. Through his first stretch of work, he has piled up 204 yards and three touchdowns on just 26 carries, flashing the kind of efficiency that tends to make fans notice, especially when a young back is turning limited touches into steady production.
Even with that kind of return, Crowell has not been getting a heavy workload lately, which has only sharpened the debate about how the Crimson Tide should divide carries. Alabama has other backs involved too, with Daniel Hill and Trae'shawn Brown also factoring in, but the question now is whether Crowell has done enough to earn a bigger role as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]